Werner George Goering (11 March 1924 – 16 October 2019) was an American bomber pilot who believed himself to be the nephew of the Luftwaffe leader Hermann Göring.

[3] Although Karl claimed to be the brother of the World War I flying ace (who was later the second most important figure in the Nazi government and head of the Luftwaffe) Hermann Göring, genealogical research conducted in 2010 showed that they were not related.

Unbeknown to him, his co-pilot, Second Lieutenant Jack P. Rencher, had instructions from the FBI to shoot Goering if he attempted to crash land or bail out over Germany or German-occupied territory.

When Chester "Chad" Brodzinski, the radio operator, did not reply, Rencher ordered the turret gunner, Orall R. "Gus" Gustafson to check on him.

Taking off in dense fog, the unnamed B-17 he was flying got caught in prop wash from an adjacent runway, and pushed sideways.

[10][15] During a raid on Buer on 22 March 1945, Goering was flying another unnamed aircraft when it was hit by flak which knocked out an engine, the intercom, and the oxygen system, and started an electrical fire in the cockpit.

[10][16] Goering remained in the Army after the war ended, eventually transferring to the United States Air Force when it was formed in 1947.

[18] Due to his fluency in German, he was posted to Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, where he served as liaison offer to General Vasily Chuikov.

[19] During the 1950s, Goering flew the Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber, a feared and difficult aircraft to fly, which caused the deaths of many airmen.